Before I lucked into a career in legal marketing, I was a blogger. No one paid me for it--pure hobby. I experimented with Plavwriter: Items of Interest, writing about politics, culture, and travel. These topics intersected most notably during the 10 months my wife and I spent in Oaxaca City, Mexico, after the heavily reported teachers' strike of 2007.
Later I launched Colorado Progressive (now dead--ha ha, read into it what you will following the 2024 election) to dive into politics and spend more time writing about my adopted home.
Blogging is Great Legal Marketing . . . Assuming You Enjoy It
My blogging experience served me well as a marketing communications manager in an Am Law 200 firm. Back then (2010) many successful legal/lawyer blogs were flourishing. Lawyers are a competitive bunch, and prone to FOMO. Many lawyers asked me if I thought they should blog. I told most of them no.
Blogging is a phenomenal awareness and engagement tool. But it's not for the faint of heart. It takes time and discipline. I helped launch and support two successful law firm blogs. I'm perhaps more proud to have discouraged all the legal blogs that would have been time-wasters and quickly discarded. I was a better advisor, when I said no, than I might have been if I'd encouraged folks who weren't likely to follow through.
"Meaningful" Doesn't Have to Mean "Serious"
Finally, blogging should be fun! That's what I'm so happy to tap into with Legal Marketing AF. To be sure, helping lawyers and law firms to succeed and grow is a serious business. But we don't have to take ourselves so seriously--and many of our clients, in fact, are relieved when we don't. They want work to be fun, too.
Legal Marketing AF is meant to be three things: savvy, salty, and personal. It's also a positive mental health intervention: At night when I can't sleep, instead of doom scrolling (as I recently shared with my friend and fellow marketer EJ Stern), I hope to be here, adding insights and creativity that help marketers and lawyers take joy in their own work.
I look forward to seeing you here!